Halifax Engagement Photography: Ryan & Jen

I’m sitting here trying to think of something witty or insightful to say in this blog because the truth is almost too simple for words: We really, really (really) enjoyed this engagement session.

We started it at Jen’s Grandma’s house in Riverport, Nova Scotia. Jen showed us round the house where their wedding decorations, quietly assembled and organized, waited patiently for their wedding day (which was AWESOME, by the way). The house itself, with its ornate wall-paper, comfortable charm, and cool piano from New York, probably would have provided enough of a background for great photography, but Jen knew what she wanted. She had 4 locations…4 of the best photo locations in Nova Scotia. Only one of them was Grandma’s house.

We hit up 2 sea-side locations that really have that East Coast vibe to them before heading to one of Nova Scotia’s best kept secrets: Windhorse Farms. It’s 200 acres of tangled hiking trails snaking through a very old forest containing a 400 year-old sugar maple (featured in photos below) as well as little log cabins and Buddhist shrines. The cabins in the woods are a cozy escape from our hyper-modern lives. Rae and I now go there sometimes to unplug for a few days/nights.

Fantastic locations aside, in literally all the photos, there’s something disarming, interesting and …. real, about Jen and Ryan. They’re just like that. Talking to them, there’s a quiet, pensive realness to them both that is refreshing and curious. In conversation, they’re not playing games–their chat is thoughtful. In their authenticity, they seem to invite others to be authentic too.